Digest filtering system and method

ABSTRACT

A method, computer program product, and computer system for sending, from a first computing device, an email digest in an email message to a second computing device at a first point in time, wherein the email digest includes one or more content items for display at the second computing device when the email digest in the email message is accessed. An action is determined to be performed on a content item of the one or more content items at a second point in time that is after the first point in time. The content item of the one or more content items in the email digest is filtered from the email message based upon, at least in part, determining that the action is performed on the content item of the one or more content items at the second point in time.

BACKGROUND

Applications, such as collaborative and/or social product suiteapplications, may leverage the use of email digests to help inform theend user about activities that the end user may have declared interestin based upon, e.g., a contribution to a forum made by the end user, atag applied to web content by the end user, a community container,updates to a specific item, etc. The email digest may include an emailsent to the end user after a defined time window (e.g., daily, weekly,etc.) that includes a notification displaying activity associated withthe declared interest of the end user that has occurred since the lastemail digest was received. Depending on things such as the amount ofdeclared interests, the content of each email digest may include asubstantial amount of activity that may be cumbersome for the end userto look through each time an email digest is received.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF DISCLOSURE

In one implementation, a method, performed by one or more computingdevices, comprises sending, from a first computing device, an emaildigest in an email message to a second computing device at a first pointin time, wherein the email digest includes one or more content items fordisplay at the second computing device when the email digest in theemail message is accessed. An action is determined to be performed on acontent item of the one or more content items at a second point in timethat is after the first point in time. The content item of the one ormore content items in the email digest is filtered from the emailmessage based upon, at least in part, determining that the action isperformed on the content item of the one or more content items at thesecond point in time.

One or more of the following features may be included. Filtering thecontent item of the one or more content items in the email digest fromthe email message may include excluding display of the content item atthe second computing device. Filtering the content item of the one ormore content items in the email digest from the email message mayinclude annotating the content item in the email digest. The emailmessage may include an alternate mime part to render an embeddedapplication. The content item of the one or more content items mayinclude at least one of a blog entry and a forum post. The action mayinclude at least one of viewing the content item of the one or morecontent items and downloading the content item of the one or morecontent items. The email digest may include an option to unfilter thecontent item of the one or more content items in the email digest fromthe email message.

In another implementation, a computing system includes a processor and amemory configured to perform operations comprising sending to acomputing device an email digest in an email message at a first point intime, wherein the email digest includes one or more content items fordisplay at the computing device when the email digest in the emailmessage is accessed. An action is determined to be performed on acontent item of the one or more content items at a second point in timethat is after the first point in time. The content item of the one ormore content items in the email digest is filtered from the emailmessage based upon, at least in part, determining that the action isperformed on the content item of the one or more content items at thesecond point in time.

One or more of the following features may be included. Filtering thecontent item of the one or more content items in the email digest fromthe email message may include excluding display of the content item atthe computing device. Filtering the content item of the one or morecontent items in the email digest from the email message may includeannotating the content item in the email digest. The email message mayinclude an alternate mime part to render an embedded application. Thecontent item of the one or more content items may include at least oneof a blog entry and a forum post. The action may include at least one ofviewing the content item of the one or more content items anddownloading the content item of the one or more content items. The emaildigest may include an option to unfilter the content item of the one ormore content items in the email digest from the email message.

In another implementation, a computer program product resides on acomputer readable storage medium that has a plurality of instructionsstored on it. When executed by a processor, the instructions cause theprocessor to perform operations comprising sending to a computing devicean email digest in an email message at a first point in time, whereinthe email digest includes one or more content items for display at thecomputing device when the email digest in the email message is accessed.An action is determined to be performed on a content item of the one ormore content items at a second point in time that is after the firstpoint in time. The content item of the one or more content items in theemail digest is filtered from the email message based upon, at least inpart, determining that the action is performed on the content item ofthe one or more content items at the second point in time.

One or more of the following features may be included. Filtering thecontent item of the one or more content items in the email digest fromthe email message may include excluding display of the content item atthe computing device. Filtering the content item of the one or morecontent items in the email digest from the email message may includeannotating the content item in the email digest. The email message mayinclude an alternate mime part to render an embedded application. Thecontent item of the one or more content items may include at least oneof a blog entry and a forum post. The action may include at least one ofviewing the content item of the one or more content items anddownloading the content item of the one or more content items. The emaildigest may include an option to unfilter the content item of the one ormore content items in the email digest from the email message.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, andthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a filter process coupledto a distributed computing network according to one or moreimplementations of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a client electronic device of FIG. 1according to one or more implementations of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an illustrative flowchart of the filter process of FIG. 1according to one or more implementations of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a screen image displayedby the filter process of FIG. 1 according to one or more implementationsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a screen image displayedby the filter process of FIG. 1 according to one or more implementationsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a screen image displayedby the filter process of FIG. 1 according to one or more implementationsof the present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a screen image displayedby the filter process of FIG. 1 according to one or more implementationsof the present disclosure.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

System Overview:

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present disclosuremay be embodied as a method, system, or computer program product.Accordingly, the present disclosure may take the form of an entirelyhardware implementation, an entirely software implementation (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an implementationcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program producton a computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program codeembodied in the medium.

Any suitable computer usable or computer readable medium may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer-usable, orcomputer-readable, storage medium (including a storage device associatedwith a computing device or client electronic device) may be, forexample, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device,or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (anon-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium may include thefollowing: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-onlymemory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a media such as thosesupporting the internet or an intranet, or a magnetic storage device.Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable medium could even bea suitable medium upon which the program is stored, scanned, compiled,interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary,and then stored in a computer memory. In the context of this document, acomputer-usable or computer-readable, storage medium may be any tangiblemedium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connectionwith the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Thecomputer readable program code may be transmitted using any appropriatemedium, including but not limited to the internet, wireline, opticalfiber cable, RF, etc. A computer readable signal medium may be anycomputer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage mediumand that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use byor in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentdisclosure may be written in an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java®, Smalltalk, C++ or the like. Java and all Java-basedtrademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracleand/or its affiliates. However, the computer program code for carryingout operations of the present disclosure may also be written inconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language, PASCAL, or similar programming languages, as wellas in scripting languages such as Javascript or PERL. The program codemay execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user'scomputer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof apparatus (systems), methods and computer program products accordingto various implementations of the present disclosure. It will beunderstood that each block in the flowchart and/or block diagrams, andcombinations of blocks in the flowchart and/or block diagrams, mayrepresent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one ormore executable computer program instructions for implementing thespecified logical function(s)/act(s). These computer programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the computerprogram instructions, which may execute via the processor of thecomputer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create theability to implement one or more of the functions/acts specified in theflowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks or combinations thereof.It should be noted that, in some alternative implementations, thefunctions noted in the block(s) may occur out of the order noted in thefigures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, beexecuted substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionalityinvolved.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks or combinations thereof.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed (not necessarily in a particularorder) on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce acomputer implemented process such that the instructions which execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps forimplementing the functions/acts (not necessarily in a particular order)specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks orcombinations thereof.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown filter process 10 that may reside onand may be executed by a computer (e.g., computer 12), which may beconnected to a network (e.g., network 14) (e.g., the internet or a localarea network). Examples of computer 12 (and/or one or more of the clientelectronic devices noted below) may include, but are not limited to, apersonal computer(s), a laptop computer(s), mobile computing device(s),a server computer, a series of server computers, a mainframecomputer(s), or a computing cloud(s). Computer 12 may execute anoperating system, for example, but not limited to, Microsoft® Windows®;Mac® OS X®; Red Hat® Linux®, or a custom operating system. (Microsoftand Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in theUnited States, other countries or both; Mac and OS X are registeredtrademarks of Apple Inc. in the United States, other countries or both;Red Hat is a registered trademark of Red Hat Corporation in the UnitedStates, other countries or both; and Linux is a registered trademark ofLinus Torvalds in the United States, other countries or both).

As will be discussed below in greater detail, filter process 10 maysend, from a first computing device, an email digest in an email messageto a second computing device at a first point in time, wherein the emaildigest may include one or more content items for display at the secondcomputing device when the email digest in the email message is accessed.An action may be determined to have been performed on a content item ofthe one or more content items at a second point in time that is afterthe first point in time. The content item of the one or more contentitems in the email digest may be filtered from the email message basedupon, at least in part, determining that the action is performed on thecontent item of the one or more content items at the second point intime.

The instruction sets and subroutines of filter process 10, which may bestored on storage device 16 coupled to computer 12, may be executed byone or more processors (not shown) and one or more memory architectures(not shown) included within computer 12. Storage device 16 may includebut is not limited to: a hard disk drive; a flash drive, a tape drive;an optical drive; a RAID array; a random access memory (RAM); and aread-only memory (ROM).

Network 14 may be connected to one or more secondary networks (e.g.,network 18), examples of which may include but are not limited to: alocal area network; a wide area network; or an intranet, for example.

Computer 12 may include a data store, such as a database (e.g.,relational database, object-oriented database, etc.) and may be locatedwithin any suitable memory location, such as storage device 16 coupledto computer 12. Any data described throughout may be stored in the datastore. In some implementations, computer 12 may utilize a databasemanagement system such as, but not limited to, “My Structured QueryLanguage” (MySQL®) in order to provide multi-user access to one or moredatabases, such as the above noted relational database. The data storemay also be a custom database, such as, for example, a flat filedatabase or an XML database. Any other form(s) of a data storagestructure and/or organization may also be used. Filter process 10 may bea component of the data store, a stand alone application that interfaceswith the above noted data store and/or an applet/application that isaccessed via client applications 22, 24, 26, 28. The above noted datastore may be, in whole or in part, distributed in a cloud computingtopology. In this way, computer 12 and storage device 16 may refer tomultiple devices, which may also be distributed throughout the network.

Computer 12 may execute an email digest application (e.g., email digestapplication 20), examples of which may include, but are not limited to,e.g., an electronic mailing list application, a collaborativeapplication, a social product suite application, email application, orother application that allows for providing email digests based upon,e.g., actions performed on online content. Filter process 10 and/oremail digest application 20 may be accessed via client applications 22,24, 26, 28. Filter process 10 may be a stand alone application, or maybe an applet/application/script that may interact with and/or beexecuted within email digest application 20 and/or one or more of clientapplications 22, 24, 26, 28. Email digest application 20 may be a standalone application, or may be an applet/application/script that mayinteract with and/or be executed within filter process 10 and/or one ormore of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28. One or more of clientapplications 22, 24, 26, 28 may be a stand alone application, or may bean applet/application/script that may interact with and/or be executedwithin filter process 10 and/or email digest application 20. Examples ofclient applications 22, 24, 26, 28 may include, but are not limited to,e.g., an electronic mailing list application, a collaborativeapplication, a social product suite application, email application, orother application that allows for providing email digests based upon,e.g., actions performed on online content, a standard and/or mobile webbrowser, an email client application, a textual and/or a graphical userinterface, a customized web browser, a plugin, or a custom application.The instruction sets and subroutines of client applications 22, 24, 26,28, which may be stored on storage devices 30, 32, 34, 36 coupled toclient electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44, may be executed by one or moreprocessors (not shown) and one or more memory architectures (not shown)incorporated into client electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44.

Storage devices 30, 32, 34, 36 may include but are not limited to: harddisk drives; flash drives, tape drives; optical drives; RAID arrays;random access memories (RAM); and read-only memories (ROM). Examples ofclient electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44 (and/or computer 12) mayinclude, but are not limited to, a personal computer (e.g., clientelectronic device 38), a laptop computer (e.g., client electronic device40), a smart phone (e.g., client electronic device 42), a notebookcomputer (e.g., client electronic device 44), a tablet (not shown), aserver (not shown), a data-enabled, cellular telephone (not shown), atelevision (not shown), a smart television (not shown), a media (e.g.,video, photo, etc.) capturing device (not shown), and a dedicatednetwork device (not shown). Client electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44 mayeach execute an operating system, examples of which may include but arenot limited to, Android™, Apple® iOS®, Mac® OS X®; Red Hat® Linux®, or acustom operating system.

One or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 may be configured toeffectuate some or all of the functionality of filter process 10 (andvice versa). Accordingly, filter process 10 may be a purely server-sideapplication, a purely client-side application, or a hybridserver-side/client-side application that is cooperatively executed byone or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 and/or filter process10.

One or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 may be configured toeffectuate some or all of the functionality of email digest application20 (and vice versa). Accordingly, email digest application 20 may be apurely server-side application, a purely client-side application, or ahybrid server-side/client-side application that is cooperativelyexecuted by one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 and/oremail digest application 20. As one or more of client applications 22,24, 26, 28, filter process 10, and email digest application 20, takensingly or in any combination, may effectuate some or all of the samefunctionality, any description of effectuating such functionality viaone or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28, filter process 10,email digest application 20, or combination thereof, and any describedinteraction(s) between one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26,28, filter process 10, email digest application 20, or combinationthereof to effectuate such functionality, should be taken as an exampleonly and not to limit the scope of the disclosure.

Users 46, 48, 50, 52 may access computer 12 and filter process 10 (e.g.,using one or more of client electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44) directlythrough network 14 or through secondary network 18. Further, computer 12may be connected to network 14 through secondary network 18, asillustrated with phantom link line 54. Filter process 10 may include oneor more user interfaces, such as browsers and textual or graphical userinterfaces, through which users 46, 48, 50, 52 may access filter process10.

The various client electronic devices may be directly or indirectlycoupled to network 14 (or network 18). For example, client electronicdevice 38 is shown directly coupled to network 14 via a hardwirednetwork connection. Further, client electronic device 44 is showndirectly coupled to network 18 via a hardwired network connection.Client electronic device 40 is shown wirelessly coupled to network 14via wireless communication channel 56 established between clientelectronic device 40 and wireless access point (i.e., WAP) 58, which isshown directly coupled to network 14. WAP 58 may be, for example, anIEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, Wi-Fi, and/or Bluetooth™ device that iscapable of establishing wireless communication channel 56 between clientelectronic device 40 and WAP 58. Client electronic device 42 is shownwirelessly coupled to network 14 via wireless communication channel 60established between client electronic device 42 and cellularnetwork/bridge 62, which is shown directly coupled to network 14.

Some or all of the IEEE 802.11x specifications may use Ethernet protocoland carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (i.e.,CSMA/CA) for path sharing. The various 802.11x specifications may usephase-shift keying (i.e., PSK) modulation or complementary code keying(i.e., CCK) modulation, for example. Bluetooth™ is a telecommunicationsindustry specification that allows, e.g., mobile phones, computers,smart phones, and other electronic devices to be interconnected using ashort-range wireless connection.

Referring also to FIG. 2, there is shown a diagrammatic view of clientelectronic device 38. While client electronic device 38 is shown in thisfigure, this is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to bea limitation of this disclosure, as other configurations are possible.For example, any computing device capable of executing, in whole or inpart, filter process 10 may be substituted for client electronic device38 within FIG. 2, examples of which may include but are not limited tocomputer 12 and/or client electronic devices 40, 42, 44.

Client electronic device 38 may include a processor and/ormicroprocessor (e.g., microprocessor 200) configured to, e.g., processdata and execute the above-noted code/instruction sets and subroutines.Microprocessor 200 may be coupled via a storage adaptor (not shown) tothe above-noted storage device. An I/O controller (e.g., I/O controller202) may be configured to couple microprocessor 200 with variousdevices, such as keyboard 206, pointing/selecting device (e.g., mouse208), custom device (e.g., device 215), USB ports (not shown), andprinter ports (not shown). A display adaptor (e.g., display adaptor 210)may be configured to couple display 212 (e.g., CRT or LCD monitor(s))with microprocessor 200, while network controller/adaptor 214 (e.g., anEthernet adaptor) may be configured to couple microprocessor 200 to theabove-noted network 14 (e.g., the Internet or a local area network).

The Filter Process:

As discussed above and referring also to FIGS. 3-7, filter process 10may send 300, from a first computing device, an email digest in an emailmessage to a second computing device at a first point in time, whereinthe email digest may include one or more content items for display atthe second computing device when the email digest in the email messageis accessed. Filter process 10 may determine 302 that an action isperformed on a content item of the one or more content items at a secondpoint in time that is after the first point in time. The content item ofthe one or more content items in the email digest may be filtered 304from the email message by filter process 10 based upon, at least inpart, determining that the action is performed on the content item ofthe one or more content items at the second point in time.

In some implementations, filter process 10 may send 300, from a firstcomputing device, an email digest in an email message to a secondcomputing device at a first point in time, wherein the email digest mayinclude one or more content items for display at the second computingdevice when the email digest in the email message is accessed. Forinstance, assume for example purposes only that user 46 is a contributorto one or more online discussions (e.g., in forums, blogs, social mediawebsites, etc.). For example, user 46 may (e.g., via client electronicdevice 38) post a comment for other users to view and/or comment on inthe online forum, where user 46 may also view and/or comment on postsprovided by other users. Additionally, user 46 may (e.g., via clientelectronic device 38) opt to receive updates to the forum and/orindividual forum posts, as well as other items. Referring at least toFIG. 4, an example email digest (e.g., email digest 400) of an activitystream sent by filter process 10 (e.g., via email digest application 20)to user 46 (e.g., via client application 26) is shown (e.g., after user46 has opened or otherwise accessed email digest 400 via clientapplication 26). In the example, filter process 10 may have sent 300email digest 400 to user 46 at time T₀. For instance, at time T₀, emaildigest may include one or more content items associated with what user46 has opted to follow.

For example, the content item of the one or more content items mayinclude at least one of a blog entry and a forum post. For instance,assume for example purposes only that user 46 has opted to follow“Updates from my network of people”, where updates from those in thenetwork of user 46 (e.g., user 48, user 50, user 52, etc.) may beincluded in email digest 400. In the example, one of the content itemsincluded in email digest 400 may be a blog entry or forum post from user48 commenting on a blog entry or forum post by user 50 (e.g., “thisneeds more blues”). As another example, one of the content itemsincluded in email digest 400 may be a blog entry or forum post from user50 commenting on a blog entry or forum post by user 52 (e.g., “verynice!”). Other examples of content items may include but are not limitedto notifications of files being shared by users, notifications ofreceiving an invitation to connect to a contacts list, status updates(e.g., for tag words), comments posted by users followed by user 46, orother activities posted by users followed by user 46.

In some implementations, filter process 10 may determine 302 that anaction is performed on a content item of the one or more content itemsat a second point in time that is after the first point in time. Forinstance, assume for example purposes only that at time T₁ (e.g., afteremail digest 400 has been sent 300 and/or received by user 46), anaction is performed on one of the content items originally included inemail digest 400 at time T₀. In some implementations, the action mayinclude at least one of viewing the content item of the one or morecontent items and downloading the content item of the one or morecontent items. For instance, further assume that one of the contentitems originally included in email digest 400 at time T₀ includes theblog entry or forum post from user 50 commenting on a blog entry orforum post by user 52 (e.g., “very nice!”). In the example, the actionperformed at time T₁ may include user 46 viewing the blog entry or forumpost by user 52 (e.g., “very nice!”), where it may have been viewed byuser 46, e.g., when visiting the website hosting the blog entry or forumpost. As another example, further assume that one of the content itemsoriginally included in email digest 400 at time T₀ includes thenotification that user 48 has shared the file vacationphoto.jpg withuser 46. In the example, the action performed at time T₁ may includeuser 46 downloading the file vacationphoto.jpg shared by user 48, whereit may have been downloaded by user 46, e.g., when visiting the websitehosting the shared file. Other examples of actions that may be performedon content items may also be used without departing from the scope ofthe disclosure. For instance, further assume that one of the contentitems originally included in email digest 400 at time T₀ includes thenotification that user 50 has invited user 46 to be added to, e.g., acontact list. In the example, the action performed at time T₁ mayinclude user 46 viewing and/or accepting/rejecting the invitation to beadded to the contact list.

In some implementations, the email message may include an alternate mimepart to render an embedded application. For instance, features such asthe above-noted blog entries, forum posts, and other content items maybe dynamically viewed, e.g., via client application 20, in place of astatic email message. In the example, at least a portion of the emailmessage (e.g., email digest 400) may include an alternate mime part thatmay include, e.g., a JSON payload or other payload type. The JSONpayload may represent the metadata for an embedded application (alsoknown as an embedded experience). An embedded application is generallypart of the Open Social standard that may enable clients (e.g., emailclients) to display dynamic elements instead of static email messages(e.g., via using alternate mime parts). The JSON part may describe themetadata necessary to allow the logic (javascript) to request dynamicresources it needs. This may be, e.g., a digest ID, user ID, etc. Anenabled email client (e.g., client application 26) may load thisembedded application in place of the static email message. In theexample, filter process 10 (e.g., via email digest application 20) thatmay be responsible for sending 300 email digests to user 46 may send outemail messages with an alternate mime part to have client application 26load the embedded application (when supported). In the example, theembedded application (e.g., via filter process 10, email digestapplication 20, client application 26, or combination thereof) maydynamically request, e.g., a feed of content items on which user 46 hasnot performed any actions, such as unread posts, files not yetdownloaded, etc. In the example, the feed of content items on which user46 has not performed any actions may be displayed instead of the contentitems originally provided in email digest 400 in the email at time T₀.

As an example, in some implementations, the content item of the one ormore content items in the email digest may be filtered 304 from theemail message by filter process 10 based upon, at least in part,determining that the action is performed on the content item of the oneor more content items at the second point in time. For example,filtering 304 the content item of the one or more content items in theemail digest from the email message may include filter process 10excluding 306 display of the content item at the second computingdevice. For instance, continue with the example where one of the contentitems originally included in email digest 400 at time T₀ includes thenotification that user 50 has invited user 46 to be added to the contactlist, and where user 46 has accepted the invitation to be added to thecontact list at time T₁. In the example, the content item of user 50inviting user 46 to be added to the contact list may be excluded 306 byfilter process 10 from the same email digest 400 in the same emailoriginally sent 300 at time T₀ (e.g., without requiring that anotheremail digest in another email be sent). That is, in the example, if user46 were to access the very same email containing email digest 400 thatoriginally included the above-noted content item at time T₀, then user46 accessing the very same email containing email digest 400 after timeT₁ may now exclude the above-noted content item from being displayed. Anexample of email digest 400 in the same email sent 300 by filter process10 at (or after) time T₀ where the content item on which the action wasperformed is excluded 306 from being displayed in email digest 400 isshown at FIG. 5.

In some implementations, filtering 304 the content item of the one ormore content items in the email digest from the email message mayinclude filter process 10 annotating 308 the content item in the emaildigest. For instance, continue with the example where one of the contentitems originally included in email digest 400 at time T₀ includes thenotification that user 50 has invited user 46 to be added to the contactlist, and where user 46 has accepted the invitation to be added to thecontact list at time T₁. In the example, the content item of user 50inviting user 46 to be added to the contact list may be annotated 308 byfilter process 10 from the same email digest 400 in the same emailoriginally sent 300 at time T₀. In the example, the content item of user50 inviting user 46 to be added to the contact list may be annotated 308by filter process 10 from the same email digest 400 in the same emailoriginally sent 300 at time T₀ (e.g., without requiring that anotheremail digest in another email be sent). That is, in the example, if user46 were to access the very same email containing email digest 400 thatoriginally included the above-noted content item at time T₀, then user46 accessing the very same email containing email digest 400 after timeT₁ may now include an annotated version of the above-noted content item.An example of email digest 400 in the same email sent 300 by filterprocess 10 at (or after) time T₀ where the content item on which theaction was performed is annotated 308 in email digest 400 is shown atFIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the above-noted content item is annotated308 with strikethrough font; however, other forms of annotation, such ashighlighting, underlining, italicizing, etc. may be used withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure.

In some implementations, the email digest may include an option tounfilter the content item of the one or more content items in the emaildigest from the email message. For example, and referring at least toFIG. 7, an object (e.g., object 700) associated with email digest 400may be located, e.g., within the email or elsewhere. The object mayinclude, for example, a dynamic link. In the example, user 46 may (e.g.,via client application 26) select object 700 using, e.g., curser 702. Inresponse to selecting object 700, filter process 10 may unfilter (e.g.,display) one or more of the previously filtered 304 content items fromemail digest 400. In some implementations, unfiltered content items maybe annotated as discussed above.

While the description includes examples of email digests, other types ofdigests may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure.For example, the digests may be sent 300 to user 46 via a text message.As such, the description of an email digest should be taken as anexample only and not to limit the scope of the disclosure.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularimplementations only and is not intended to be limiting of thedisclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps (notnecessarily in a particular order), operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps (not necessarily in a particular order),operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications,variations, and any combinations thereof will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe disclosure. The implementation(s) were chosen and described in orderto best explain the principles of the disclosure and the practicalapplication, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art tounderstand the disclosure for various implementation(s) with variousmodifications and/or any combinations of implementation(s) as are suitedto the particular use contemplated.

Having thus described the disclosure of the present application indetail and by reference to implementation(s) thereof, it will beapparent that modifications, variations, and any combinations ofimplementation(s) (including any modifications, variations, andcombinations thereof) are possible without departing from the scope ofthe disclosure defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computing system including a processor and amemory configured to perform operations comprising: sending an emaildigest in an email message including a mime part to render an embeddedapplication to a computing device at a first point in time, thecomputing device associated with a recipient of the email digest,wherein the email digest includes one or more notifications associatedwith one or more content items for display at the computing device whenthe email digest in the email message is accessed; determining whetheran action is performed, by the recipient of the email digest, on acontent item of the one or more content items at a second point in timethat is after the first point in time, wherein the action includesviewing the content item of the one or more content items; and filteringone or more notifications associated with the content item of the one ormore content items in the email digest from the email message basedupon, at least in part, determining whether the email recipient of theemail digest has viewed the content item of the one or more contentitems at the second point in time, wherein the one or more notificationsassociated with the content item of the one or more content items isfiltered in the email digest from the email message if the content itemis viewed by the email recipient, and wherein the one or morenotifications associated with the content item of the one or morecontent items is unfiltered in the email digest from the email messageif the content item is not yet viewed by the email recipient, whereinfiltering the one or more notifications associated with the content itemof the one or more content items in the email digest from the emailmessage includes annotating the one or more notifications associatedwith the content item in the email digest, and wherein the email digestincludes an option to unfilter the content item of the one or morecontent items in the email digest from the email message and annotatethe unfiltered content item of the one or more content items.
 2. Thecomputing system of claim 1 wherein filtering the one or morenotifications associated with the content item of the one or morecontent items in the email digest from the email message includesexcluding display of the one or more notifications associated with thecontent item at the computing device.
 3. The computing system of claim 1wherein the content item of the one or more content items includes atleast one of a blog entry and a forum post.
 4. The computing system ofclaim 1 wherein the email digest includes an option to unfilter the oneor more notifications associated with the content item of the one ormore content items in the email digest from the email message.
 5. Acomputer program product residing on a physical non-transitory computerreadable storage medium having a plurality of instructions storedthereon which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor toperform operations comprising: sending an email digest in an emailmessage including a mime part to render an embedded application to acomputing device at a first point in time, the computing deviceassociated with a recipient of the email digest, wherein the emaildigest includes one or more notification associated with one or morecontent items for display at the computing device when the email digestin the email message is accessed; determining whether an action isperformed, by the recipient of the email digest, on a content item ofthe one or more content items at a second point in time that is afterthe first point in time, wherein the action includes viewing the contentitem of the one or more content items; and filtering one or morenotifications associated with the content item of the one or morecontent items in the email digest from the email message based upon, atleast in part, determining whether the email recipient of the emaildigest has viewed the content item of the one or more content items atthe second point in time, wherein the one or more notificationsassociated with the content item of the one or more content items isfiltered in the email digest from the email message if the content itemis viewed by the email recipient, and wherein the one or morenotifications associated with the content item of the one or morecontent items is unfiltered in the email digest from the email messageif the content item is not yet viewed by the email recipient, whereinfiltering the one or more notifications associated with the content itemof the one or more content items in the email digest from the emailmessage includes annotating the one or more notifications associatedwith the content item in the email digest, and wherein the email digestincludes an option to unfilter the content item of the one or morecontent items in the email digest from the email message and annotatethe unfiltered content item of the one or more content items.
 6. Thecomputer program product of claim 5 wherein filtering the one or morenotifications associated with the content item of the one or morecontent items in the email digest from the email message includesexcluding display of the one or more notifications associated with thecontent item at the computing device.
 7. The computer program product ofclaim 5 wherein the content item of the one or more content itemsincludes at least one of a blog entry and a forum post.
 8. The computerprogram product of claim 5 wherein the email digest includes an optionto unfilter the one or more notifications associated with the contentitem of the one or more content items in the email digest from the emailmessage.